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State Representative District 11 {_getChooseLabel(this.selections.length)}

Description: The South Dakota State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the Senate which has 35 members, and the House of Representatives, which has 70 members. The two houses are similar in most respects; the Senate alone holds the right to confirm gubernatorial appointments to certain offices. The Legislature meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. It begins its annual session of the second Tuesday of January each year. The legislative session lasts 40 working days in odd-numbered years, and 35 days working days in even numbered years.Term: 4 consecutive 2 year termsSalary: $16,348/year + $178/day for legislators who reside more than 50 miles away from the capitolRequirements for Office: 21 years old; 2 years residency; qualified voter; may not have been convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crime; may not have illegally taken "public moneys".Petition Requirements: Depends on party and legislative district. See SD Secretary of State's website for details.

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    John C. Kunnari
    (Rep)

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    Sonja Mentzer
    (Dem)

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    Brian Mulder
    (Rep)

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    Keri K. Weems
    (Rep)

Biographical Information

What should state government do to support access to affordable housing?

What should state government do to support equitable, quality public education (pre-K through higher ed) for all?

How do you view the initiative and referendum process in South Dakota? Are there any changes to this system that you would support?

Considering recently passed laws, what will you be watching for to ensure all eligible voters have equal access to the ballot box while maintaining the security and integrity of our elections?

What, if anything, should our state government do to support access to affordable, quality childcare?

What do you see as the most important challenges facing our state?

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Age 47
Campaign Facebook URL http://facebook.com/SonjaforSD
Campaign Instagram URL http://instagram.com/sonjaforsd/
Campaign Website http://sonjamentzerforsd.com
State government can ensure that Housing Assistance Programs stay funded and available. South Dakota should continue to build and grow First Time Home Owners loan program through USDA, allowing better interest rates for those who have never purchased a home prior. Together with local governments limit the amount of AirBnB rentals in communities that have such limited houses available, that would otherwise be available to purchase.
The state needs to keep our public tax dollars going towards our public schools and not diverting it to private schools. I fully support more funding to all levels of education here in South Dakota starting with pre-K programs and Headstart through our Vo-techs and Universities.
If the people of South Dakota vote on a ballot measure, the legislature needs to respect those votes. I would support rules to not be able to override initiatied measures for two years.
I have a child turning 18 in the coming months, she and her friends will be registering to vote for the first time. I will be making sure that they are registered fully then following up on their voter registration through the Secetary of State office prior to election day. I will be following up on any first time voters to ensure they can vote the entire ballot and not just the top. My election materials will include links to the Secretary of State website to check voter registration. Through my work with state and county party, voter registration drives will require every voter registration to be followed up on for accurate filing.
The state can offer grants or low interest loans to childcare centers for both startup or large improvement projects so those costs are not passed on to the parents. The state should continue to invest and grow our Childcare Assistance programs offering help to the parents to cover costs of childcare. South Dakota lost a great deal of in-home daycares during covid that opted to not reopen. The state can offer training and mentorship to those stay- at- home moms that are curious about opening up their homes to start small day cares.
South Dakota is understaffed. In nearly every industry across the state we are looking for quality employees from Ag, Education, Healthcare, Childcare, mechanics, and so on. If we want to improve production, profitability, education scores, accessibility we should start with fully staffing our current institutions.
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